On Writing

A few weeks back I read an article on Daily Writing Tips about a book Stephen King wrote. On Writing is half memoir and half how-to. The first part of the book chronicles his early life and how he got his start as a writer. The second half of the book is where King goes into details of what he perceives is the best way to write.

After finishing this book I felt renewed and ready to write. I did my best to soak in what King was trying to convey to me. In this book King tells the reader to read, read, and read some more. This, unfortunately, is something I have fallen behind on. I enjoy reading very much, but have let the TV and internet entertain me. I have realized that reading inspires me.

I think the hardest concept for me to grasp and run with is telling myself to stop editing as I write. Even as I sit here and pound at the keys, I find myself wanting to go to the top and re-read what I have written.

In his book King also tells us that he dislikes the passive voice and adverbs. And I must admit that after reading the pages and chapters about the passive voice I fall victim to writing that way. He writes "With the passive voice, the writer usually expresses fear of not being taken seriously..." Adverbs are those words that end in "ly." King says "With adverbs, the writer usually tells us he or she is afraid he/she isn't expressing himself/herself clearly, that he or she is not getting the point across." Looking back at my style of writing I can see points in my work where I did use adverbs to show the reader what I meant. If I had been telling the story, then my reader would know exactly what I meant and there would be no need for clarity.

This was the first book I read on writing and it has given me some great insight into the mind of such an accomplished writer. I would definitely recommend any writer or blogger, for that matter, to pick up this book.